You Loved Me Once

Frowning a little, Alba blinked her eyes open, her ears doused by the sound of the alarm which echoed around the room. It was early, from what she could see of the sunlight through the blinds, it was barely past 6 in the morning, and she was a little irked to be awake, even if she had been expecting it, a small part of her had been hopeful that with a baby around, Lionel would allow her to sleep in. Letting out a small grumble, she tossed onto her side and stole the phone out of his hand, tossing it onto the end table with an audible thump.

“Buenos dias to you too, Alba” Lionel teased.

“You’re almost 30” Alba countered, snuggling a little closer to her pillow “I am sure that for one year, you could survive without waking up at 6 in the morning on Christmas morning” she added, moving to pull the duvet a little closer to her.

Lionel rolled his eyes. “It’s tradition” he mumbled, cuddling closer to her “Every year that we’ve spent the holidays together, we’ve always gotten up early for breakfast, and I’d like to keep it going. It’s our little girl’s first Christmas after all” he added, gently pressing a kiss against her shoulder.

Alba shifted a little before she rolled onto her back, her blue eyes glancing up at him. “You’re certain that we can’t spend the whole day here?” she posed gently.

“I’d love to see you explain that to my mother” Lionel mused, brushing the blonde hair off of her face “She’s so excited by the prospect of spending time with you and Bella” he added gently.

Alba smiled. “She seems to like having me around” she commented softly “More so than she likes having you around at times” she teased.

“Don’t remind me” Lionel groaned playfully.

Alba smiled a little and leant into his side, kissing his cheek gently. “Feliz Navidad” she murmured softly.

Lionel wrapped his arms around her, offering her a small squeeze before he mumbled the same words in return, placing a soft kiss against her temple.

“We should probably get up soon” Alba mumbled after a second of quiet.

“Soon” Lionel agreed “But right now, I am comfortable. Are you not?” he posed, peeking down at her.

Alba merely smiled up at him, something which caused him to offer her another soft squeeze, more than content to waste a few more minutes.

~#~
“This one is for you both” Celia smiled gently as she placed a gift into Alba’s lap. It had been a good morning, with the entire family around, the house had been filled with noise and activity, and Alba had enjoyed it, even if it had made Isabella a little more fussy than normal, she had found herself more than content to be a part of the family Christmas that Jorge and Celia appeared to be orchestrating.

Alba tilted her head a little before she peeked at Lionel who shrugged, eagerly taking the neatly wrapped gift out of Alba’s hands.

“I was clearing out a few things a little while ago” Celia fussed as she watched Lionel tug at the paper “And I stumbled across these” she added as Lionel pulled the photo album out of the paper “I figured the two of you would probably want them more than me” she added.

Alba offered her a soft smile before she took the book out of Lionel’s hand, flicking through a few pages before she came across a picture that she hadn’t seen in years. “Is that us?” she squeaked.

Celia peeked at the picture and nodded. “It was taken about 2 hours after you were born, Alba” she smiled “Your madre insisted that we take a picture of you two together” she quipped, admiring the picture of the two infants.

Alba smiled a little before she turned the page, shaking her head at the selection of awkward pictures from their childhood.

“I’ve always loved this one” Lionel smiled as he pointed to a picture in the bottom corner of a page “This must be the last one that we took together before I left for Barcelona” he enthused, admiring the picture of the two of them sat on a swing set, grinning at one another.

Alba nodded softly, contently turning the pages until she reached the end, smiling a little at the picture that had been placed on the last page. It was a recent one, Alba was sat on her hospital bed with Isabella in her arms and Lionel at her side, but still it made her grin, more than a little amazed by how far they’d come. It had been massive, the change in dynamic between the two of them, and the book in her hand was a reminder that, despite the spate of low points, their relationship was one that had been littered with happy and positive moments. “Gracias for this, Celia” Alba smiled.

“It was no problem” Celia smiled “Perhaps we will have more pictures to put in there before long” she quipped before she pushed herself to her feet, excusing herself to check on dinner.

Alba watched after her for a moment before she turned to her boyfriend, a look on her face which made him chuckle a little. “Let me guess” he mused “You want to tell her about our little secret?” he posed gently, trying to keep his voice down as to not be overheard by his other relatives which were all dotted around the living room.

Alba’s cheeks warmed a little. “I think it would make her day” she murmured softly.

“I thought you wanted to hide it for a little while” Lionel reasoned softly. He wanted to tell people, from the moment that she had agreed to marry him, Lionel had wanted to tell anyone and everyone he could, but he wanted Alba to be sure. They were still very much in a phase of their relationship where they did things at Alba’s pace and he didn’t want to push her into anything she could regret.

“I did” Alba murmured “But I think we both know that the only people that are likely to be upset by our news are my parents. I just think this could be a good time. It beats doing it over the phone in a few weeks” she explained softly.

“I’d be more than happy to tell them, Alba” Lionel smiled “But it’s up to you” he added.

Alba offered him a little look before she offered him a small smile. “I’d like to tell them” she mused.

“Tell who what?” Celia quipped as she stepped back into the room.

Alba’s cheeks warmed a little, something which made Lionel shake his head, moving to his feet. “Me and Alba have something we’d like to share with you all” he mused softly “A few days ago, I…uh…I asked Alba something very important and to my surprise, she agreed. I asked her to marry me” he explained with a small smile.

Celia blinked a little. “You proposed to her?” she posed softly.

Lionel nodded. “I did” he confirmed gently “And Alba said yes” he added with a warm look towards his fiancée who smiled up at him shyly.

The room was quiet for a moment, no one seemingly knowing the right thing to say before Celia stepped towards the pair, pulling Alba into a tight hug which caught her slightly off guard.

“Congratulations” Jorge grinned as he moved to pat his son on the shoulder.

Lionel smiled.

“You’re sure this time?” the older man posed quietly.

Lionel merely offered him a firm nod. He doubted that he could have been surer.